Flying Allen eyes happy hunting ground
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 9 July 2025
Flying Blue Lake bolter Kai Allen is on a high following a breakthrough weekend at Darwin, but don’t be surprised if the good times roll on in Townsville.
Having shown plenty of promise across the first five rounds, Allen announced himself at the Darwin Triple Crown by finishing third and second in the final two races.
The first tastes of Supercars silverware were no gimmies either as he raced his way past many big names with smart strategy, tyre management and execution.
Read more from Kai in the latest Auto Action Premium
Boosted by the success, Allen now eyes Townsville, a key location in his growing career, with plenty of confidence.
“Now going to Townsville, one of my favourite tracks I am excited to go there and knuckle down to get a few more good results,” he told Auto Action.
“It is where I debuted in the 86 series and got a podium at Townsville, I love that track and it suits me well.”
Allen has many good reasons to be optimistic about getting more strong results on the North Queensland street circuit.
Kai Allen on Toyota 86 debut in 2021. Image: SE Voice
Townsville was the scene where it all started for Allen back in 2021 when he made the jump from karts to cars.
Despite missing the Toyota 86 Series season opener because he was too young, and even battling food poising, 16-year-old Allen made an instant impression on debut.
In his first drive, he qualified fifth and made it to the podium by finishing fourth, third and fourth across three intense races where he fought and defeated the likes of Cameron Crick, Lee Holdsworth and Jonathan Webb.
Fast forward a year later Allen was in a Supercar, driving an ex-Jamie Whincup Holden VE Commodore in Super3 and was dominant.
He flew to both pole positions on offer before winning the final race to snare the round win over Brad Vaughan.
Having made the step up to Super2 in 2023, of course Allen choose Townsville as the perfect moment to secure his latest breakthrough.
In what he described as his “best weekend ever” at the time, Allen converted his maiden Super2 pole into breakthrough race and round wins.
He overcame a fierce battle with Zak Best to achieve the feat in what became a springboard for his rookie Super2 title.
Whilst he fell just short in defending his Super2 crown in 2024, Allen still made sure he carried on his winning streak by getting another Super2 win on the Sunday.
Kai Allen celebrates his frist Townsville Super2 success. Image: Mark Horsburgh
With so many Townsville triumphs, don’t be surprised if Allen secures more silverware in the penultimate round of the Enduro Cup.
Not only does Allen enjoy happy memories of the circuit, but so does Grove Racing.
The team’s sole 2024 victory at the hands of Matt Payne took place at the North Queensland street circuit in a tense strategic battle.
The strength of strategy has only grown at the Groves, with the pit wall also playing a part in Allen’s podium double.
Despite being very inexperienced in pit stop races, Allen is gaining a greater understanding of how to maximise strategy and tyre management to extract results.
“The style of strategy we have been running suits me,” Allen said.
“Having the confidence from the team to run these strategies gives me the chance to learn and understand how it all works.
“The Sunday race in Perth I learnt a lot in terms of how the tyre works and the need for clean air.
“That gave us a lot of confidence we could do the same in the longer race at Darwin.
“The engineering team is confident in the drivers we can make different strategies work.
“We are pushing each other towards the top. For me it is about execution and not trying too hard.
“The biggest thing I found was overdriving the car at the start of the year and making some mistakes, so I just need to be more consistent.
“We are piecing things together as I get more familiar with the car and strategies and everything in longer races.”
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